WTC final: "Rohit Sharma is one of many very good batters" - Tim Southee on India's 'dangerous' batting lineup
Tim Southee is wary of India's batting strength, terming it 'dangerous', with the New Zealand pacer adding that Rohit Sharma is just one of the many good batters in the line-up. Southee also picked Rohit as someone he personally enjoys watching across all three formats.
With the World Test Championship (WTC) final just a few hours away, all eyes will turn towards Southampton for the marquee clash between India and New Zealand. Speaking ahead of the Test, Tim Southee highlighted India's batting strength and branded it an "exciting batting line-up." Southee was quoted as saying by the ICC:
"It’s an exciting batting line-up, the mix of experienced guys and a couple of young guys who have come in and played with that freedom and that excitement that they have. Rohit Sharma’s a tremendous player in all three formats and personally a guy I like watching bat, his style and the way he can take a game away from the opposition is great to watch. But I know as a bowling group that it’s a dangerous line-up throughout, Rohit is only one of many very good batters in this Indian batting line-up that we have to be on top of our game against.”
Tim Southee didn't feature for New Zealand in the second Test against England at Edgbaston, with the Kiwis winning the contest by eight wickets. However, the veteran seamer is expected to return to playing XI for the WTC final against India.
"Virat Kohli is one of the best to play the game" - Tim Southee
Tim Southee versus Virat Kohli will undoubtedly be one of the key match-ups in the WTC final. Although Southee termed the Indian skipper one of the modern-day greats, he was quick to point out that the Kiwis will need to be wary of India's entire batting line-up. The pacer added:
"As a player, you like to test yourself against the best and Virat [Kohli] is one of the best to play the game, definitely one of the modern-day greats but it’s not only him."
Kohli has faced 214 deliveries from Southee in his Test career, with the seamer dismissing the Indian skipper thrice so far. It remains to be seen who will come out on top in the WTC final.